Page 78 of Mine To Possess
Viktor nods to me and I tell Doctor Patrick what happened. He shakes his head solemnly.
“Some men aren’t fit to be around other people. Miss Madison, I’m so sorry that happened to you.”
“Thank you, Doctor. Have I lost the baby?”
“It’s possible I’m afraid, but let’s not jump to any conclusions. Have you experienced any blood loss or spotting?”
“I don’t know,” I admit. “We came straight here, and I haven’t had a chance to check.”
“Please do so,” the doctor says, turning his back subtly.
I quickly open my jeans and push them down, relieved to see my panties are clean, dry and not dotted with red. I pull my jeans back up and re-button them.
“No,” I say. “No blood.”
“Any pain or discomfort in the area?” he asks.
“No more than I would expect after being punched,” I say. “I’m a little tender, but there’s no sharp pains or anything.”
“That all sounds promising. Why don’t you hop up onto the bed for me with your jeans open and top lifted past your stomach while I go and fetch the ultrasound machine?”
I do as he says as he leaves the cubicle, the curtain swirling around where he parts it to leave.
“That sounds good, right?” I say to Viktor.
He nods and smiles at me, taking my hand in his.
“It does,” he confirms. “I don’t think he would have been so quick to do an ultrasound in front of you like this if he thought there was a chance you lost the baby.”
I lay on the bed, taking comfort from Viktor’s words. The doctor returns quickly, with a nurse pushing a cart with a machine on it. She stands the machine beside me and switches it on. The doctor picks up the scanner and turns to me.
My heart is starting to race as nerves overcome me. This is it. The moment I will know if my baby is ok or not. The doctor apologizes in advance for the cold and then he rubs some icy cold jelly over my tummy. He smiles reassuringly and then he begins to move the scanner around my stomach. I hold my breath, watching Dr. Patrick look at the screen.
His expression doesn’t give a lot away, but I can see a slight frown on his face as he peers at the screen. I feel my heart sink. I’ve lost my baby. I turn to Viktor with tears in my eyes, biting them back, not letting them come. He squeezes my hand tightly and reaches out and brushes the hair back from my face. He doesn’t say anything. There’s nothing to say. Our baby is gone.
Suddenly, a thump, thump sound fills the room and Doctor Patrick’s face changes. He beams widely at me.
“That sound is your baby’s heartbeat, Miss Madison. The little mite gave me quite a scare there, but it turns out you just have a shy one,” Dr. Patrick says.
Relief floods me and the tears I was holding back come now, tears of pure joy as I laugh at the same time.
“The heartbeat is nice and strong, and you can rest easy. Your baby’s fine,” the doctor says. He turns the screen around so that Viktor and I can see it. “Look here.”
He points at what looks like a tiny peanut on the screen.
“That’s your baby,” he says.
“Hi Ava or Jack,” I whisper.
“Oh, so we’ve chosen the names already, have we?” Viktor says, laughing with the same relief that makes me cry.
I grin happily. “Well, they’re not definite or anything.”
He leans down and kisses my forehead.
“We can call the baby anything you want Amelia,” he says. “All I care about is that you’re both happy and healthy.”
Doctor Patrick moves the scanner away from me and hands me a wad of tissue which I use to wipe the jelly off my stomach. I want to beg him to let me listen to the baby’s heartbeat for a little bit longer, to see him or her on the screen for a bit longer, but I don’t. My baby’s fine and that’s all that matters, and I’m suddenly very much aware that not everyone waiting to see a doctor will be getting such good news. I don’t want to hold the doctor up from seeing people who still need treatment.